Alex Ochoa and Barry Larkin celebrate their ninth straight road win. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        DENVER — Bob Boone still felt angry more than two hours after he was ejected from Saturday's game. But Boone's fury turned to bliss when he addressed his team's effort in its 9-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies. It was a collective triumph, the sort the Reds manager and any baseball purist could treasure.

        Every starting position player hit safely; all except one scored or drove in a run. Three Reds stole bases; all proceeded to score.

        The only substitute who appeared in the field, Juan Castro, singled and scored in his lone at-bat and made an outstanding defensive play at third base. Sean Casey, in a rare pinch-hit appearance, helped fuel a four-run ninth inning with a bases-loaded walk while the outcome was still in doubt.

        “For the most part, guys are relaxed,” said .328-hitting outfielder Michael Tucker, who drove in three runs with a sixth-inning double and a ninth-inning single. “Things seem to be flowing right now. It's perfect. There's not any pressure on anybody.”

Elmer Dessens was on a Rocky Mountain high. | ZOOM |

        Not on Elmer Dessens (2-1), who pitched six excellent innings by Coors Field standards. Dennys Reyes followed with one of his best performances ever as a Reds reliever, striking out five consecutive Rockies in two perfect innings.

        No wonder Boone voiced gratitude and praise once his fifth-inning clash with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was forgotten and the Reds' fifth consecutive win was rehashed.

        “There were so many good jobs,” Boone said. “We're playing with great intensity and taking advantage of the little things. ... All those things pick you up. It's what brings a team together. Everybody (contributes) a little bit and you feel like you're part of the game.”

        The Reds (14-9) have recorded their growing list of mini-achievements — winning 11 of their last 14 games; tying Chicago for first place in the NL Central Division; capturing nine straight road games to build a league-best 10-4 record away from home; clinching their first winning April since 1994 — without center fielder Ken Griffey Jr.

        This isn't to suggest the Reds don't need Griffey. Eventually, they will. But they've proven they can at least compete without him.

Aaron Boone is out at second. | ZOOM |

        Dessens overcame Coors Field's demons. He faltered in the third inning, yielding Todd Walker's two-run homer, and in the fourth, when Ben Petrick's pop-up floated over the right-center field wall for another two-run shot, aided by gusts and the high altitude.

        But Dessens regained enough of his command to retire eight of the last 10 Rockies he faced.

        “My slider wasn't working in the first couple of innings,” he said through interpreter Hector Mercado. “But it started working later. I began trying to throw it harder.”

        Reyes inherited a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning. Given his erratic tendencies, the one-run difference looked fragile.

        But a new Reyes seems to have emerged. The left-hander has appeared in three consecutive games, allowing no runs over 3 1/3 innings. “I think I found something. You have to make him really tired,” Boone said jokingly.

        Reyes received immediate support from Castro, who charged in to inhale Juan Pierre's leadoff bunt in the seventh and threw off-balance to first base for the out. “For me, that's the main play,” Reyes said.

        Reyes did the rest, retiring Todd Walker on a called third strike before fanning the heart of the Rockies' order — Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Greg Norton and Todd Hollandsowrth. The confrontation with Helton was especially memorable, as the reigning NL batting champion fouled off four 3-2 pitches before flailing at Reyes' slider.

        Not to be forgotten was catcher Jason LaRue, who prevented rallies before they began by throwing out two Rockies attempting to steal. “That may have been the difference,” Boone said.

        That, or a dozen other factors.

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